The Closet
by Beth - Geek Chick
Summary: In addition to a hideaway wall safe, Annie's safehouse is equipped with a hideaway closet, which comes in handy one night. Oneshot


Annie woke suddenly, her senses sharper than others to hear sounds that don't belong. Like what she was hearing now – the door to her apartment being jimmied. She reached under her pillow for her gun, only to remember that she'd locked it away.

Cursing her luck, she then grabbed the next best thing – her cellphone. Any other person would call 911, but her covert status caused her to hesitate. If it was a normal burglar, she could call in the cops, but what if it were one of her previous marks? Someone who followed her back to her safehouse and was now coming to get her.

Her eyes slid over to the concealed wall safe where she'd put her gun the day before, but then heard the lock on her door give, and the squeak of the wood as it slowly opened. She had no time to think now.

Hide. It was the only thing to do. She had no idea who it was and didn't feel like playing 20 questions with her life. Cell in hand, she had just enough time to hop out of bed and over to the corner of her bedroom. She'd found the hidden closet a few days after moving in and outfitted it for just this purpose – complete with a deadbolt that was only visible from the inside. She locked herself in and listened.

From what she could tell from the sounds, there were two men. She pressed her ear against the door to listen.

"Hey, you said she'd be here, man."

"She should be. I followed her back from the bar."

"Maybe she went out again."

"Yeah, maybe. Think we should just hang out, wait for her?"

"Why not? You said she was hot, right?"

"Smoking, and believe me, ready to go, if you know what I mean."

Annie bit back a groan and silently banged her head against the closet door. She recognized the voice of one of them, a guy who just couldn't understand the meaning of the word "no." And someone who couldn't hold his liquor, she thought.

Did he really think he could just break in here, and she'd welcome him with open arms? Where do these lunkheads come from? And he was staying, waiting for her to "come home." Jesus!

Opening her cell, she knew any call she made would alert the guys to her presence, so she whipped out a quick text.

_Intruders at my house. Stuck in closet. Send help._

Within a minute, she received a reply. Thank god, Auggie was still awake.

_Civilians? Or work-related?_

_Civilians, followed me back from bar. Won't leave. Help!_

_Do you have your weapon?_

_Locked away. No time to retrieve._

_Danielle home?_

_Not that home, at safehouse._

_Give me address. I'll be there in 20._

Annie breathed a sigh of relief and sent out her address to him. He probably wouldn't be happy that she was revealing her safe house address, but what else was she to do? Besides, she could always find another place. One with better door locks, she thought. She leaned against the wall, wishing the time to go quicker.

She glanced at the time on her cell. Midnight. She'd only had a drink or two at the local watering hole and walked home, enjoying the good weather. How in the hell had those two lunkheads followed her without her knowing? She really had to remain on guard, even off duty. Some covert operative she was, if she can't even protect herself.

She hoped she didn't disturb Auggie too much, or that he was sleeping when she texted. She'd owe him a big dinner after this, definitely.

Pressing her ear against the door, she listened as the guys walked around and chatted. Nothing worth listening to, so she leaned back against the wall and waited. She'd only been asleep for about a half an hour, and she was exhausted. Please, Auggie, get here soon, she thought.

Sooner than she thought, she heard his voice shout out into her apartment.

"Where's Annie?"

She pressed her ear against the door again, gauging the time when she'd be able to release herself from her prison.

"Yeah, what'd you do with my baby sister?"

The second voice was deep and gruff and complete foreign to Annie. What the hell was going on out there?

"Hey, man, we ain't done nothing. She invited us back here, but when we got here, she was gone. We figured she'd be back soon."

"I don't think so. She just texted me, saying that two gorillas were harassing her at the bar and followed her home."

"You better not have done nothing to my sister! She's all the family I got left!"

"No, man, you got it all wrong. She –"

"I'm betting she did nothing of the sort. Why don't you get your slimy butts off of her furniture and get out of here?"

Annie wasn't sure what kind of threats or gestures were being made, but obviously, they were enough as she heard quickly retreating footsteps and her door slam shut.

"Annie?"

She breathed a sigh of relief as she unlocked the door and slid out of the small closet. "I'm here."

She was greeted by the sight of Auggie and another guy she didn't know standing in the middle of her apartment. Not caring about her lack of attire – t-shirt and panties – and the stranger, she ran up to Auggie and threw her arms around his neck.

"Thank you for coming so quickly."

"Ahh, you hid in the closet, right?"

"I told you that was a good idea," she said with a laugh. Then, realizing they weren't alone, she stepped back. "Hi. I take it you're my long-lost brother?"

Auggie chuckled, then waved a hand out in introductions. "Annie, meet Derek Jones. He was with me in the bar when I got your text. He's an old buddy of mine from the Army."

Annie held out a hand that was quickly engulfed by the man's larger one. "Thank you so much."

"Not a problem."

His gaze slid from her face down her body, looking away with embarassment as he realized what she wasn't wearing. "Tell you what, Aug, I'll see you later?"

"Yeah, sure. Thanks again, Derek," he replied, shaking the man's hand as he left.

Annie let out a sigh of relief and led Auggie over to her bed, where she sank down onto it.

He sat beside her and rubbed a hand down her back. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I guess. Thought of this place as secret, safe. That no one could touch me here, or know where I was. Now I'll have to find another apartment."

"Why?" Auggie asked.

"'Cause no one's supposed to know about it, remember? And now you do."

Auggie shook his head, "No, I don't. I have no idea where I am. I handed my phone to Derek and told him to drive to the address on the screen."

"Thanks, Auggie. I really like this place."

"How many other hiding places do you have in here?"

Annie laughed, "Just the one. It locks from the inside and is completely hidden from the front."

"Sweet."

"Well, guess I better get some pants and shoes on to drive you home."

"Nah, if you don't mind, I'll take your couch. Never know, those idiots might be waiting to come back."

Annie reached over and brushed a kiss across his cheek, "Thanks, Auggie."


End file.
